Trial by Fire (2 page)

“Momma has those froufy-flavored creamers. I’ll let you pick.” He poured Daddy’s coffee first, then got the hazelnut, the french vanilla, and the toasted marshmallow Peep flavored. Christ on a pink glittery crutch. “Here you go. Options.”

Naturally, McCoughey picked marshmallow.

Holden fought the urge to roll his eyes. Barely. He settled in a kitchen chair. “Have a sit and we’ll talk.”

“Thanks. Hell of a flight here.” Lachlan sat, looking the room over, that sharp blue gaze missing very little, he’d bet. Holden wasn’t sure what Lachlan was looking for. It was a ranch kitchen—bigger than most, sure, because they had to feed the crew sometimes—bright and clean, homey.

Sarah Jane, the housekeeper, came in, stopping short when she saw Lachlan. “Sorry, I didn’t know y’all had company.”

“No worries, lady.” He waved her off with a wink and a nod. Sarah Jane had been a friend of the family since before he was born. Hell, her son Ryan had been his buddy for years.

Lachlan nodded, but waited until Sarah Jane left before firing the opening salvo. “I’d like to see my niece.”

“No.” He didn’t see no need to sugarcoat it. “I don’t know you from Job, and I ain’t just trotting her out to meet strangers.” His job was to protect that baby, and, dammit, he intended to do it.

“I’m her uncle, same as you.” Lachlan grimaced. “Adelaide’s my sister, and I may not have a bloody idea why she ran off, but I’m family.”

No idea. Shit. These folks had damn near kept Addie a prisoner, for fuck’s sake. Fancy-assed folks who called themselves ranchers, when Addie said they had more money than God.

“We got no proof of that, and that’s my granddaughter. I say whether or not you’re family.” Daddy had aged thirty years in the last thirty days. “No offense, but Addie never said nothing about wanting to get ahold of you. Even if you is family, how do I know you’re not a… a serial killer or something?”

Impressive. Ten seconds into the conversation and Daddy was already pulling out the serial killer card.

Lachlan’s dark blond brows climbed to his hairline. “Serial killer? Oy. I’m not a rodeo bugger.”

Ah, a snob and a homophobe. Goodie.

“Finish your coffee and go, man. I’m sorry you came all this way for nothing, but we got work to do.”
And no time to deal with your horseshit.

Lachlan scowled. “You’re not planning on being reasonable, then? I have plenty of legal recourse, but I wanted to try to just work something out.”

He let his eyes roll like thrown dice. “Don’t bullshit me. Addie was an American citizen, and that baby is too. Chloe will be fifty before you ever got a court date. Threaten someone else.”

He had to deal with immigration all the fucking time, what with the Aussies and the Brazilians and the Frenchie—which was still a little
what the fuck?
—coming to rodeo. God knew, Landon wasn’t interested in managing that. Holden knew his shit.

Lachlan slapped his hands on the table and stood. “You clearly don’t know me. I don’t give up.”

“Uh, that’s the point, man. We don’t know you.” Idiot.

“I want. To see. Me niece.” Each word drawled out in the most offensive tone Holden could imagine. “She’s all there is left of my sister, and I’ll be fucked if I let her grow up with a bunch of trashy traveling circus types.”

Holden didn’t bother to monologue. He’d learned every lesson he had from his daddy, and this was an important one. If you’re fixin’ to fight, don’t talk. Hit the bastard first. Holden stepped up and clocked the tall motherfucker right under the jaw, sending Lachlan stumbling back.

Daddy opened the kitchen door without a word, and Holden’s next blow saw Lachlan on the front porch near the steps. The big guy tried to get his shit together to whale on him, but the dude was three times his size, so that wasn’t going to work. He got one more punch in, then shoved the asshole down the front steps, punctuating things with a firm kick in the butt.

“Guess you’re fucked,
mate
.” He drawled the last out, making it as nasty as he could. “Next time, we’ll just have to shoot first, ask questions after.”

Lachlan’s hat sailed out the door, and Daddy followed, right there with him.

To his credit, the dickhead didn’t sputter and threaten. He rose and grabbed his hat before limping to a big rental pickup in the yard, not even startling Pepper, who was still ground tied out there.

That didn’t bode well. Lachlan seemed like a damned determined man, and Holden knew full well this was far from over.

Still, it was over now, and sometimes that was the best a man could get.

It was like anything else in life, he guessed, you got the shit with the sunshine. Right now there was a wee bundle of sunshine upstairs waiting for him, and he intended to go see her.

“What the hell was that, Holden?” Ropers Norman and Ben came trotting up, with a metric fuckton of other cowboys following up slower.

“Says he was Addie’s brother. Don’t know about that. He was making threats and shit.”

“Miz Sheffield had a brother?” Ben scratched his head. “Never heard her say so.”

“Landon said she had folks back in Oz, but they didn’t get along.” That was Deacon, who had been Addie’s staunchest friend from the get-go.

“Well, y’all keep an eye out. He wants our Chloe.” The cowboys would help protect the ladies of the house, for sure.

Everyone, down to a man, scowled, but it was Crazy who spoke. “Ain’t no one hurting my baby girl. You got my word, Holden.”

“I appreciate it, Crazy, I do.”

There was a chorus of agreement before the boys drifted back to work. Daddy stepped out on the porch, those tired eyes missing nothing. “That feller ain’t gonna give up.”

“No, sir. I reckon he won’t.”

“We’ll have to powwow on it tonight.” Daddy spat off the porch. “Might as well get back to work.”

“Yeah. Give me two shakes of a dead lamb’s tail. I need to see….”

Momma came out with wee Chloe in her arms, and Holden moved straight over to them.

“Well, now, who is the sweetest baby girl I’ve ever known?”

He got a grin, Miss Chloe kicking and squealing to get to him.

His momma just shook her head. “She knows who she’s got wrapped around her finger, don’t she?”

“Yes, ma’am. You okay, Momma?”

“Right as rain. Nice bit of ass kicking, by the by.”

“Thanks.” His cheeks heated, and he lifted Chloe into his arms before pressing his cheek to the top of her downy head. “No one threatens my girl.”

He rocked her, letting himself just breathe a second. Not very long, because he had a few things to look into. Like what kind of family Addie had and where. He didn’t need more assholes showing up.

First, though, he had to get Pepper put away. Deal with his shit.

Life went on, even when he wasn’t sure he wanted it to.

LACHLAN
slapped an ice pack over his right eye before sliding into the weird, uncomfortable dining chair in his extended stay hotel room. He grabbed his cell and dialed his family’s personal security advisor, Dez, needing to feel back in control of the situation.

He almost grinned, but his face hurt too much. That little Sheffield bastard packed a wallop.

Especially for a little fuck. Holden was definitely the runt of the litter there, a miniature version of the tiny bull rider Adelaide had married.

“Hello?”

“Dez. It’s Lachy. Got a moment?” He had no idea what time it was where Dez was, really. He’d given up his personal security years ago, but Dez always seemed to have his nose in Lachlan’s business.

“For you, mate? Nah….” Dez’s laugh sounded just like home. “Seriously, what’s up?”

“I need everything you can get me on the Sheffields. They’re gonna be tougher than I thought.” And then some. That old man and his shotgun….

“Not a problem. It shouldn’t take too long, I wouldn’t think. I know they’ve been in the rodeo biz for… crikey, three-four generations.”

“Yeah.” He sighed. “Put my boot right in my mouth on that one.”

“Are your prejudices showing, Lachy?”

“Huh?” He went for innocent but not offended. “Bah. I reckon. I just don’t want my niece growing up on the road, right?”

“I hear you. I’ll get you ammunition, Boss. No worries.”

“Thanks, Dez. I need a way in.” His head began to pound; he needed to go down to the tiny shop at the front desk and see what they had for a headache.

“I’ll find it. You okay? Just jet-lagged?”

“Took a pounding. Ades’s man’s brother, I’m guessing. Hot little fucker.” That popped out, and Lachlan laughed, surprised at himself.

“Must be, if he got the drop on you, mate. You can bluster with the best of ’em.”

“I like to think I can hold my own.” Maybe he was getting soft. “Thanks, Dez. Call me on the dog and bone when you have something.”

“Will do. Get some rest.”

“Shit. I got nothing to do but sit.” He hated the very idea of twiddling his thumbs for days on end.

Still, he couldn’t give up. That was Ades’s baby girl, the only piece of her left. He hadn’t even seen her….

Lachlan took a deep breath. Okay. First things first. He grabbed his cell and called the number in his e-mail for Sheffield Ranches Inc., which he should have done in the first place. He’d made the dangerous assumption that these people were bumpkins who would roll over and give Chloe to him.

“Sheffields. This is Kathy. How can I help you?”

Huh. A sister? A secretary? The mom? She didn’t sound old enough to be the mom.

“Hello. I’m looking for Holden, please.”

“Give me two shakes. Hrm. He’s listed as unavailable on the system.”

The system? They had a system? That sounded like his own operation.

“I can patch you through to his phone, though, and you can leave a message. He’s fairly good about returning calls.”

“Thank you. That would be perfect.” Christ. Had he ever underestimated this family.

“No problem. Have a blessed day!”

A series of clicks sounded, then Holden’s voice. “Hey, y’all. I’m working or sleeping or the phone’s turned itself off. Leave a message and I’ll get back to you soon.”

“Holden. Lachlan McCoughey. I know I didn’t make the best impression, but give me a call. I’d like to see Chloe, at least.” He almost added a “please,” but he couldn’t make the word come out. He rattled off the cell number of the US phone he’d picked up at the airport.

Now he got to do his least favorite thing on earth.

He got to wait.

“
ARE
you seriously going to go out there and see that monster?”

Holden looked at his momma, shook his head. How much of a monster could this guy be? Holden had already kicked his ass, and McCoughey had a foot on him in the height department. “The man isn’t going to go away without a discussion. I’m meeting him at the diner. He’s not going to start shit, or I’ll clean his plow.”

A satisfied little voice in the back of his head whispered, “Again.”

Besides, Addie never said anything against her people, except to say they were hidebound and snooty and didn’t understand her, that she felt trapped. Landon was the one who said they kept her prisoner. It wasn’t like the dude was a molester or nothing. That, Landon would have killed McCoughey for.

Hell, from what Kathy’s husband, Gene, had dug up down at the sheriff’s department, the only bad thing about Lachlan McCoughey was that he had more money and land than sense.

Well, that, and he collected modern art. Seriously? Chloe would be making that shit in two years. Why would you pay for that stuff?

“Knowing your luck, he’ll shoot you,” Momma said darkly. She was a bundle of sunshine lately.

“Boomerang me to death, maybe.” He wasn’t stressing it. This was Texas, his territory, his world. His rules. “I’ll bring you and Daddy some pie.”

“Chocolate, please.”

“Apple for me,” Daddy said.

“Y’all got it. I’ll be back. I have my phone.” He headed out to his Ford, climbed up, and started into town, the radio blaring out one of the bro country singers—Chase or Colt or something. They all sounded alike.

Jesus. He sounded like his daddy. Landon was the one who’d kept him young, the one who liked hick-hop and horrorbilly.

“What the hell is horrorbilly?” he’d asked Landon. “A Chiller original movie about a mutant goat?”

Landon had laughed and flipped him the bird.

He squeezed his hands on the steering wheel. Fucking asshole. Leaving him.

“I ain’t never gonna forgive you, man. Never. I will show up at Heaven’s gate cursing your fucking name.” He swore he could hear Landon laughing, except that he knew Landon would come back to raise that baby girl if it were possible.

It burned deep, marked his soul that they wanted him to do it.

He almost missed that last turn into town, had to stand his pickup near on end to hit it. No getting himself killed too.

That would be awkward as fuck for Gene to explain to Momma.

He pulled up in front of Edna’s diner a few minutes later, the big blue rental truck parked right in front of the door. Lachlan had beaten him there. Time to put on his game face.

Holden grabbed his 10X, popped it on his head, and headed out. He was wearing a clean button-down, but he’d decided this prick wasn’t worth parading his ostrich skin boots out for. The work boots would do.

Lachlan McCoughey was a big guy. He stood when Holden walked in, his blue eyes just as piercing as they had been the other day. Handsome, Holden supposed, with a sun-lined face that liked to smile, even if it wasn’t smiling now.

Too bad he was a fuckmonkey who wanted to take Landon’s baby girl from him.

“Hey.” He looked over to Rosie and smiled. “Coffee, honey. The folks want their pie order for my way home.”

“You got it.”

Lachlan waited for him to close in before offering a hand. “Thanks for agreeing to meet me.”

“Seemed like the friendly thing to do.” He shook, pleased that McCoughey didn’t want to have a pissing contest with it. He was fairly sure three of his fingers were broke after that tricky trailer gate snapped shut on them early this morning, and he wasn’t looking to hurt ’em worse. He’d wrap them once he was home, but not yet.